Second-quarter core operating profit held steady at $5.94 billion, surpassing market forecasts of $5.31 billion.

The company anticipates a slight single-digit percentage decline in core operating profit for the full year.

Novartis AG (ticker: NVS) announced on Tuesday that its second-quarter revenue has returned to growth. For several prior quarters, revenue and profit performance had been persistently weighed down by multiple patent-expired drugs facing competition from low-cost generics in the U.S. market.

The Swiss pharmaceutical giant reported net sales of $14.41 billion for the quarter, representing a 1% increase at constant exchange rates. Volume growth from blockbuster products, including the cancer drugs Kisqali and Pluvicto, as well as the multiple sclerosis treatment Kesimpta, offset the decline in sales from off-patent medications.

Analyst consensus estimates compiled by research firm Visible Alpha had previously projected net sales of $13.96 billion for the quarter.

The company's core operating profit, a key profitability metric emphasized by Novartis, remained flat at $5.94 billion. This significantly exceeded the market consensus expectation of $5.31 billion.

Company executives stated that Novartis is navigating the most severe patent cliff in its corporate history, with drugs like the heart failure treatment Entresto, the platelet booster Promacta, and the leukemia drug Tasigna all facing generic competition.

Consequently, while full-year sales are still projected to achieve low single-digit growth, Novartis forecasts that its annual core operating profit will experience a slight single-digit percentage decline.

Novartis is working to bolster its new drug development pipeline through acquisition deals and is pinning hopes on positive results from several key Phase III clinical studies to enhance its sales outlook for the coming years.